Events

Annual General

11 June 2022 / 9 a.m.EDT

Online -  register

Reports to be provided prior to the meeting.

Great Moments in Genealogy

11 June 2022 / 10 a.m. EDT

Presenters: Jennifer Hill, Christine Jackson, Sue Lambeth

Online - register

Solving a 100-year-old mystery using DNA

The identity of Jennifer Hill’s paternal grandfather was a family mystery so she decided to use her DNA results to try and find out who he was. Jennifer will talk about the steps she took to solve the mystery in the 100th anniversary year of her father’s birth. 

Jennifer Hill was born in Montreal and has English, Irish and Scottish ancestry.  In the early-to-mid 2000s she picked up the family tree that her brother built and began to develop it further using genetic genealogy.  Jennifer has served on BIFSHGO's Conference Planning Committee and is currently serving on the board as Treasurer.

Voices from a Silent Past

Three postcards―dated 1909 and 1936―are now the only evidence that contact was maintained between Christine’s extended Jewish family in Amsterdam and their cousins who migrated to London in the 1860s. After 1936 contact ceased and the English family assumed their Dutch cousins had been lost in the Holocaust of WW II. While seeking the fate of those who wrote the postcards, Christine found more than she could have possibly imagined.

Christine Jackson has been conducting research on her own family and those of her cousins and friends for over 40 years, most frequently in the English county of Sussex, where she was born and raised. A retired federal public servant (Elections Canada), she is a long-time BIFHSGO member, conference planning committee and Board member, as well as being an experienced writer, editor and presenter.

Lost Connections Found 

Using American Revolutionary War Pension Records to solve a family brickwall, Sue Lambeth discovered a surprising connection between two separate branches of her family tree - her Canadian maternal grandparents and their ancestors. Some of Sue's Revolutionary War ancestors fought as Patriots, while others supported the Loyalist cause or remained neutral in the conflict. This 'Great Moment' explores their surprising connections. 

Sue Lambeth worked for the BC Provincial and Federal governments for 40 years before retiring in 2018 to spend time enjoying her favourite hobby - family history research. Sue volunteers with the OGS-Ottawa Branch and BIFHSGO, and is currently working on a project for the Hamilton/Niagara branches of Ontario Ancestors to index and scan genealogical records related to the Gage family. 

Laughlin McKinnon

10 September 2022 / 10 a.m. EDT

Presenter: Suzanne Lesage 

Location: to be confirmed

They were called Laughlin (Lachlan, Laughlan, Lochlin) McKinnon were Scots, Catholics, and lived on the Isle of Egg in the Inner Hebrides in the middle of the 18th century. There were four of them on an island that boasted less than 500 inhabitants and even more unusual, three of them emigrated to Canada, one of them was my ancestor.

The presentation will be about the challenges of finding out which one was my ancestor who settled in the Province of Quebec in 1773 and the whereabouts of the other two.

Born in Quebec City, but having grown up in Hull – now Gatineau, Suzanne Lesage is a retired scientist with more than 20 years of experience in genealogical research and is currently president of la Société de généalogie de l’Outaouais in Gatineau. She has published several articles on a variety of genealogical topics, from Huguenots to DNA testing.

From Derry to the Pontiac – A Publishing Journey

8 October 2022 / 9 a.m. EDT

Presenter: Nancy Conroy

Location – to be confirmed

Nancy completed six years of research and writing on the Dales of Clarendon as of January 2022. The story traces the journey of the Dales from their home in County Derry to the wilderness of Clarendon township and documents how the family both survived and thrived. This presentation will provide highlights of her experience getting the rough manuscript into book format and ultimately into the hands of readers. The book was self-published with the assistance of Friesen Press. The book combines genealogy, social history, and family stories, in describing the adventures of the Dales. 

Nancy Dale Conroy, the author of From Derry to the Pontiac, has a keen interest in the past. She was born in Shawville, Quebec, as were both her parents, and she wanted to find out more about her Clarendon Dales. Countless hours were spent in Shawville, Quebec, primarily at the Pontiac Archives. A visit to Northern Ireland helped provide additional information about the Dales and Wilsons of Ulster. One of the biggest surprises was that her ancestors were originally from Scotland making them Ulster Scots. Her DNA confirms this, with a 54% attribution to Scotland.

Stories from the War 

12 November 2022 / 10 a.m. EST

Presenter: Carol Annett

Location: to be confirmed

As an RCAF bomb aimer during WWII, Richard Glanville “Dick” MacKinnon survived parachuting from a burning aircraft into occupied France. Though memories of that time remained for the rest of his life, he rarely spoke of his experience. When he died 20 years ago, he left behind a collection of war memorabilia—a scrapbook, mementoes, letters, and newspaper articles, many of which he added over the years. Combining material from Dick’s collection, his own recorded memories, and additional research findings, this talk begins with the war years and ends with discoveries made after his death. The presentation tells the story of Dick MacKinnon and of people connected with him during the war—including his comrades who perished, and members of the French Resistance who risked their lives to shelter him. 

Carol Annett’s genealogy journey began when she inherited her father’s family history files as well as his war memorabilia when he died in 2002. She joined BIFHSGO a few years later. In 2010, after visiting the cemetery in France in which her father’s comrades are buried, she wrote about them for the BIFHSGO writing group. In 2022, the isolation of the pandemic has provided the time to delve into her father’s war collection in detail and write a more complete account to share with others, particularly Dick’s relatives and descendants. As a writer, Carol believes that telling people’s stories is an important part of remembrance.